Barnes & Noble closing Sycamore Plaza store in Kenwood by December 31

Lease extension talks fall short

Barnes & Noble will close its Sycamore Plaza store in Kenwood by Dec. 31, after it was unable to come to lease terms with the shopping center’s new owner.

“We have numerous locations throughout the Cincinnati metro area and look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve our customers at those locations,” said David Deason, vice president of development for the New York–based company.

Sycamore Plaza and Sycamore Crossing, a 32-acre retail center south of Kenwood Towne Centre, were purchased in August by a joint venture led by DDR Corp., a publicly-traded real estate company based in Beachwood, Ohio. The 335,000-square-foot shopping center includes Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s Furniture, Staples and Old Navy among its tenant roster.

Built in 1966, the property fetched a $79 million price tag when acquired by BRE DDR Crocodile Sycamore Plaza LLC August 19, according to Hamilton County property records. A leasing specialist assigned to the property could not be reached for comment.

The Kenwood closure comes one day after the area got a big retail lift. Saks Fifth Avenue signed a letter of intent to relocate its downtown Cincinnati store to the Kenwood Collection, a $200 million mixed-use project that is trying to land 30 to 40 upscale specialty shops to complement the two-story Saks store expected to open in 2016.